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Tuesday, July 19, 2016

10 Fun Facts about Australia

Well, I've been here for about 12 days now, and I've learned quite a lot about this Australian way of life. Sadly most things have been learned the hard way, but alas, they've been learned.

That being said, I thought it might be fun to share with y'all....

(taps pointer against chalkboard)

Let's begin!

1 - All things opposite. I know it's common knowledge that the driver is on the opposite side of the car and the cars drive on the opposite sides of the road, but you never realize how many other things in life follow the left. vs. right situation until you have to live in it. For example, I've tried to go down the 'up' escalator so many times - simply because it's on the wrong other side than what I'm used to.

Let's just say I look both ways approximately 14 times each before crossing the road. #carsbecomingouttanowhere

2 - Australia is a lot healthier than America. Work catered in lunch one day last week and it was wraps and salads with a side of fruit and juice/water to drink. No soft drinks, no potato chips - just healthy options. I mean yes, they do have things such as ice cream and other desserts (and I'm making it my mission to find them all), but with healthier options, no artificial sweeteners, and smaller portion sizes, they just seem to be healthier.

3 - Speaking of food - Aussies (pronounced "ozzies") are absolute foodies. Several locals have told me the only thing to do here is eat (not true, but you get the point) and every single person I've met so far has a running list of restaurants they want to try. One person had over 600 restaurants on her list. Food is no joke here. Which is understandable as so far everything I've eaten is downright amazing.

Lombardo Pizza @ Maybe Frank4. Public transportation here is AMAZING, and once you get an Opal card (basically a prepaid travel card), you can use any form of transportation (light rail, bus, train, ferry) - all with the same card. The even better part? Every week, after 8 paid trips, the rest of your trips are free! So my commute to work Monday through Thursday basically gets me free travel on the weekend! I have no idea why this is, but I don't really care. It's awesome. 5. If you read about my trip to Taronga Zoo then you already know this one, but it's illegal to touch or hold a koala in the city of Sydney. Which is quite depressing for many tourists. You can travel to other cities (Brisbane, Adelaide, etc.) and hold them though. Which is obviously on my list. Your koala can also touch (and smell) you - that doesn't appear to be illegal. :)

6. Trash cans
Rubbish bins are few and far between. And you never realize how often
you need a trash can (and how readily available they are in the US)
until you suddenly don't have one.

7. Aussies are total coffee snobs. And I fully support it. They have magical coffee beans here. I always put sweetener in my coffee and I have had a million cups without it so far. And I don't even miss it. Starbucks apparently tried to infiltrate the continent back in 2008 with over 100 stores, and you know how many are left? 3. {T.h.r.e.e.} Sorry Starbys, you just didn't make the cut.

Flat White @ Reuben Hills8. While the winter is quite mild (think 65 degrees), weather is just about as unpredictable as Texas. One morning I left my apartment in rainboots, a scarf, and an umbrella, and by the time I got home I had stripped down to a tank top and pulled out my sunglasses. It actually made me smile. I kinda miss those Texas weather mood swings :)

9.
Hungry Jack's is the Australian version of Burger King. I was passing a
train station the other day, saw this logo, and thought man that
looks familiar. Then I asked about it and apparently when the Burger
King franchise came over to Australia, that name was already taken. So
they took the exact same restaurant - menu and everything - and called
it Hungry Jack's.

10. How do you speak the lingo? Abbreviate. Everything.And 95% of the time you just add an "o" or a "y" at the end of it. Uni - UniversityBrekky - BreakfastPrezzie - PresentMozzie - MosquitoArvo - AfternoonAvo - AvocadoBizzo - BusinessGarbo - Garbage

You get the idea :)

And there are your first 10 facts! I say "first" because I've already started a running list of more. There's just too much to share on this side of the planet!

Y'all have a great Tuesday, I'm gonna go ahead and get started on Wednesday. Of like next week. :)